In the Legislature

Lawmaker presses property tax delay

A South Carolina lawmaker said Wednesday that a proposal to delay a property tax increase for real estate purchases would help the slumping housing market and keep large construction projects from going to other states.

Rep. Bill Cotty, R-Columbia, said thousands of real estate contracts in South Carolina have fallen through as an unintended consequence of the property tax law approved two years ago.

Under the law, increases in property values are capped at 15 percent for tax purposes. But they automatically jump to market value when property is bought or added on to.

The House unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would delay the property value jump until the county's next reassessment. By law, counties reassess home values every five years.

The measure requires another routine vote before going to the Senate.

Poker legislation folded for the year

Legislators gave up Wednesday on a bill that would legalize kitchen table poker.

A measure legalizing recreational poker games in homes was sent back to a House panel without debate, ending the bill's chances of passing this year.

State law currently bans any game with cards or dice.

Rep. Wallace Scarborough has said a friendly game of cards should be legal.

The Charleston Republican says he introduced the bill after hearing about a 2006 police raid on a poker game in a Mount Pleasant home.

House delays action on retiree pay hikes

House members may have scuttled retirement pay increases for all state retirees out of concerns that they won't get bigger pension checks of their own.

The Ways and Means Committee agreed Wednesday to delay action on the raises.

The bill would have given state workers in four retirement systems automatic cost of living adjustments of 2 percent yearly. But the plan came under fire two weeks ago as the House gave it a key yes vote on the same day the Senate Finance Committee nixed raises for current workers as it cut spending to balance the budget.